Trip.com’s 2023 Hong Kong travel trends: where people went, number of flights they took, and more; and how Jay Chou is the one to watch (or avoid) in 2024
- It wasn’t the greatest year for travel but 2023 had some bright spots, including a ‘significant revival’ of Hong Kong’s tourism industry, according to Trip.com
- Taipei, Bangkok, Tokyo and Shenzhen were among Hongkongers’ most popular destinations, while Malaysian and Filipino tourists visited in more significant numbers
Two thousand and twenty three. It wasn’t the finest of years, really, was it.
As the planet sizzled, the Big Oil-co-opted Cop28 failed to deliver the radical solutions we so desperately need; life in the world’s various conflict/extermination zones got much, much bloodier; and if the anticipated post-Covid euphoria materialised anywhere, we must have missed it.
Still, living is all about hanging on to the positives, and one of those – at least according to Singapore-based travel services provider Trip.com – is that “Hong Kong’s tourism industry rebounded with remarkable resilience [in 2023], witnessing a significant revival in both outbound and inbound travel”.
Trip.com’s intel comes from its own search and booking platforms (including Skyscanner and the AI-powered TripGenie), rather than official sources, but given the size of the operation, it must have a fair amount of insight.
“On average, each Trip.com user [in Hong Kong] took 1.7 outbound flights,” we’re told, with individuals aged between 23 and 34 having the itchiest feet. “The average total distance travelled per person was 3,023km, which is equivalent to circling Hong Kong six times!”
Anyone familiar with the dimensions of Hong Kong may not be as impressed with that observation as Trip.com’s exclamation mark implies people should be.
However, that distance can be explained by the fact that “Hong Kong travellers show steadfastness in their beloved destinations”, all of which are a short-haul flight away. Taipei, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul and Osaka are all as attractive now as they were before the pandemic.
Female trekking guides in Nepal praised and encouraged by women clients
And mainland China, of course, where Shenzhen and Guangzhou were among Hongkongers’ top five getaway cities, the others being seaside Shanwei, Shanghai and Dongguan.
“Hotel bookings data reveals that travellers typically spend 1-3 days in the Chinese mainland for short getaway trips,” reports Trip.com.
Other than tourists from the mainland and Macau, travellers flying into Hong Kong are primarily coming from Thailand, Singapore, Japan and South Korea, as usual, but a couple of other markets are muscling in on the action.
“Malaysia and the Philippines, which were not among the top 10 sources of travellers before the pandemic, have now become significant contributors to Hong Kong’s tourist arrivals,” claims Trip.com.
And if those arrivals aren’t staying in the city’s five-star hotels, they’re heading out to hotels in Sha Tin or Tsuen Wan – not because of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery or the Tai Mo Shan Country Park, unfortunately, but because of “better transport infrastructure and competitive pricing”.
Attractions – or “products”, as Trip.com rather corporately calls them – that are enticing to international tourists include (in descending order of appeal): Disneyland; Ocean Park; The Peak; Hong Kong Palace Museum; Ngong Ping 360; the teamLab Future Park; The Peak Tram; the Observation Wheel; Water World Ocean Park; and the M+ museum.
No self-respecting travel services provider would dream of doing without AI-enhanced curated lists, and so it is with Trip.com and its Trip.Trends feature, which is based on user searches across platforms, search engines and social media.
And guess what? “In the latter half of the year, Hong Kong claims the top spot as the ‘most clicked destination’ on the Trip.Trends page,” beating Tokyo into second place, ahead of Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul.
Go us!
Jay Chou tour dates: when and where to avoid
Places to avoid this year include London and Paris (in mid-January); Sydney and Melbourne (early March); Yokohama (early April); and Fuzhou (mid-May).
Unless you’re a Jay Chou fan, that is.
Music tourism is big business these days, and according to a different Trip.com survey, the Taiwanese singer, who is making his way around the world on the Carnival tour, was the biggest Asian draw of them all in 2023.
“During Jay Chou’s Carnival World Tour in Bangkok, the search volume for Bangkok hotels experienced a notable surge of 175 per cent in the week following the concert announcement (8-14 September), compared to the preceding week,” reads a press release.
“Searches for air tickets to Bangkok exhibited a substantial increase of 213 per cent. Furthermore, the number of hotel stay bookings in Bangkok on December 9 [the second of his two dates in the Thai capital] spiked by 129 per cent when comparing the same two weeks.”
Other big Asian names identified as having packed ’em in during 2023 include Wang Leehom, JJ Lin and Hong Kong’s own God of Songs, Jacky Cheung Hok-yau.
We advise readers to avoid hitting town when any of those are strutting their stuff – unless you have a ticket.
Personally, we like the sound of the Stihia Festival – “the top electronic music event in Central Asia” – which will take place from June 5 to 8 in Muynak, in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan.
Way out, or what!
Indonesia tempts visitors with new visas
Not wishing to lose out to neighbours Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore – which have all been experimenting with schemes designed to attract visitors (Chinese and Indian, primarily) – Indonesia has been doing its own fine-tuning, having introduced five-year multiple-entry visas for those who want to visit for tourism or business purposes.
A regular tourist visa for Indonesia is valid for one entry of 30 days, although that can be extended for a further 30 days. The new visa allows stays of up to 60 days per visit and applicants can apply and pay with a credit card online.
